King George V
Part One, Chapter Thirteen: A King-in-Waiting
In the Autumn of 1833, the King’s tutor, John Lawton, asked to be allowed to retire. At 76 years old, he had never expected to leave King’s College, Cambridge, much less to serve the Sovereign. Whilst Baron Stockmar’s departure had seen him take on a prominent position in the Royal Household, Lawton had never cared for the trappings of court life and was visibly uncomfortable at the grand occasions he was expected to attend. King George V was deeply upset when Lawton announced that he would be retiring at the end of the year but his time with his tutor had been well spent. Lawton’s final report to the Duke of Clarence was a glowing one. The 13-year-old King was; “bright and capable with a healthy curiosity that will serve him well. He respects authority but does not exert his own. He still shows little aptitude for poetry and he does not appear at all interested in great literature or works of art. Yet he is diligent and studious in keeping his journal and he shows a keen interest in history and philosophy, seeking out books on these subjects which he devours quickly but comprehends perfectly”.
A young King George V by Sir Martin Shee.
Lawton had done his duty and his protégé had survived the strict Stockmar system only to prove how useless that particular approach was once it was over. John Lawton was given a pension by the Royal Household and a grace and favour cottage on the Windsor Estate where he died in 1845 at the grand old age of 88. In his journal, the King noted; “Mr Lawton died this morning. I shed a tear for my old tutor and friend who was such a model to me and a true credit to his profession”. With Lawton’s resignation, it was decided that the King’s education would be broadened from the usual syllabus he might have followed at Eton College. Whilst his lessons would still continue, these would be entirely focused on subjects such as the British constitution or current world affairs. These lessons would be limited to four hours a day, three days a week and would be led by a tutor appointed from King’s College on John Lawton’s recommendation, Henry Barwell.
Barwell had a reputation as something of a radical, a man with a reforming zeal who believed that the education system in England was “a stain on its character”. The Duke of Clarence was initially troubled by Lawton’s recommendation but after meeting Barwell, he considered him “a fine man and if concern for the welfare and better education of the gentlemen of tomorrow be a radical position, I might then be declared to be radical also”. Barwell believed that books and lectures could only go so far and he advocated regular outings away from the classroom so as to allow his pupils a first-hand glimpse of the world outside of the school walls. For the young King, this coincided with the government’s view that he should begin to undertake a limited programme of public engagements from his 14th birthday onwards so as to better introduce him to the people. Barwell believed the King “mature and sensible enough to carry off such appearances with tact and amiability” and so a programme was put together with London providing the setting for the King’s “Spring of Introduction”.
The first of these visits was to the Palace of Westminster for a personal tour conducted by the Speaker of the House of Commons. Whilst he was intrigued to see the throne in the Lords chamber (
The Times noted that His Majesty did not try it for size), he thought the Commons to be “in much better order” and impressed the Speaker, Sir Charles Manners-Sutton when he said he was pleased to be able to visualise the chamber better in future when he read Hansard debates. At the close of the visit, the House of Commons assembled to applaud the King who was said to have “conducted himself with an interest and sensibility far beyond his years”. As a token of his gratitude, the King commissioned Garrards & Co to produce a new mace for the House of Commons, replacing that which was given to the House by King Charles II following the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. When it was presented to the Commons, the House received it with a Loyal Address thanking His Majesty for the gift.
The House of Commons as it was at the time of King George V's visit in 1834.
There were also visits to the British Museum and to the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Society and the Tower of London. On a visit to Westminster Abbey, the King caused a minor stir when he was offered the opportunity to pray at the Shrine of St Edward the Confessor. Not wishing to insult his hosts, the King knelt for a few moments but then popped back up and wandered over to the tombs of Elizabeth I and her sister Mary, which he was far more interested in. This was the first indication that the King would never truly embrace his role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. His religious beliefs were possibly best described as non-conformist and whilst he never shirked his religious duties, he often spoke of the Anglican Communion and his position within it as “that other thing”, uncomfortable with long religious services and with some of the beliefs of the more Anglo-Catholic Bishops he met with frequently. He would later write; “I see more opportunity to worship the Divine in nature than in cathedrals”. Indeed, as he grew older, he dispensed with early morning prayers in the royal chapels and preferred to start his day with a walk in the gardens of his residences accompanied by a more junior cleric. They would pray but mostly discussed a psalm or a parable together, the King often surprising those who joined him with his “scholarly knowledge of the life of Christ”.
Until his 14th birthday in January 1834, the King had never left England. Barwell believed that he should visit the continent so as to allow him “a glimpse of a country which is not his own and so to have an opportunity for comparison and even critique”. It was decided therefore that the young King should visit Hanover. George’s grandfather, King George III, had never made the journey and the last British Sovereign to visit “the other Kingdom”, was King George II. For George V, this was an exciting prospect, not only because he would experience foreign travel for the first time but also because his predecessor had become a personal hero. Kneller’s portrait of the late King was hung in his bedroom and he even took to wearing a miniature of George II on a blue ribbon around his neck. He also commissioned a biography of King George II but when he was unhappy with the first drafts (which he felt “failed to appreciate the truly remarkable achievements of the man”), he pledged to write the book himself in the future.
George V would also have an opportunity to see the country which had given the world another of his heroes; Frederick the Great. After visiting Hanover, the King’s party would move on to Prussia where George would watch military manoeuvres, visit the King of Prussia at Schloss Charlottenburg and tour various important landmarks in Berlin. He insisted that a trip to Potsdam be included in the itinerary so that he could visit the tomb of Frederick the Great at the Sanssouci. Barwell proposed that the return to England might be made via Paris but the British government vetoed the idea on the grounds that the French had recognised Belgium and Britain had not, and King Louis Philippe was likely to invite King Leopold, putting the young King in an awkward position. Instead, the King would first sail aboard the Royal George (the Royal Yacht) to Holland where he would visit the Prince and Princess of Orange and the Dutch King before moving on to Germany. Joining him on his voyage would be the Duchess of Clarence and Princess Victoria of Kent who would remain in The Hague until the King’s visit to Germany was concluded and the pair could join him to return to England.
The King’s European tour was planned for August 1834 but in the meantime, the success of the domestic visits in London prompted Barwell to schedule more of the same. However, one of his ideas was considered a little too political to be approved. In 1833, the Whig government introduced the Factory Act. Led by Lord Althorp, the act was the response to the reports issued by a commission which had spent months touring the textile districts. Their findings proved shocking. Factories and mills were found to be “places of the most vile immorality” where children were found to be working in terrible conditions and were being subjected to regular beatings by overseers determined to work them harder. Whilst conditions for so-called “mill children” were far preferable to those experienced by children working in mines or other industries, the government wished to address the situation in factories and mills as a priority. Althorp’s bill made it illegal to employ children less than 9 years old in factories (they could still be employed in silk mills and other industries) and child workers of 9 – 13 years of age were limited to 9 hours a day. There had been previous acts implemented by other governments which sought to regulate working conditions for children but the Factory Act of 1833 proved particularly controversial, not just with factory owners or investors, but also with the working classes who feared a significant loss of income.
Barwell felt that the King should see the life he might have had by visiting a factory employing children his own age and even suggested he be allowed to meet with some of them, rather than being given a tour by the factory owner whom no doubt would put only the very best side of his operation forward. “In my view”, Barwell wrote to the Duke of Clarence, “This visit would allow His Majesty to see a perfect example of how current legislation affects the lives of his subjects directly and would, I believe, give him an appreciation and understanding of the working conditions faced by many of them”. This was a step too far for the Duke of Clarence. Whilst the government were not opposed, Clarence forbad the factory visit on the grounds that it was “far too political”. But Barwell found another way to give the King first-hand experience of the life of the working man. He arranged for the King to spend one day a week with Mr and Mrs Robert Larman and their three children on a dairy farm on the Windsor Estate. The King helped Mr Larman with everything from managing the farm accounts to mucking out the cowsheds. At the end of the long working day, George was given a farthing, the wage a farmhand of his age could expect to receive each day for his labours.
The Royal Dairy at Windsor.
This was a lesson the King never forgot. He wrote that he found it “particularly cruel that those who labour most are so often so poor” and from his 14th birthday on, he would make a special effort to visit the farms on his estates to ensure that the families there knew he appreciated their work. As he grew older, he gained a reputation among his tenants for being “the most generous landlord in England”, though other landowners scoffed and jeered at his tendency to overpay and overlook lapses in rent payments. Unable to do anything politically, this was George’s way of showing his commitment to improving the lives of the working poor and though he did not share his grandfather’s interest in agriculture, his tenants often referred to him as “Farmer George the Second”. But the King’s primary interest remained with the military and his upcoming visit to Europe highlighted a problem which the Duke of Clarence had long mulled over. On his visit to Prussia, King Frederick William III wished to appoint King George V an Honorary Colonel of a Prussian regiment for which he would wear a Prussian uniform. One day, George would be Head of the Armed Forces and whilst his father’s life had been devoted to the military before his unexpected accession in 1820, his son looked likely to follow George III’s example and wear military uniform only as a royal costume.
King George IV had been very clear as to the path his son should take where the military was concerned. After having successfully completed three years of afternoon classes, the Prince of Wales was to begin a gruelling schedule of further study designed by Baron Stockmar which would prepare him for Eton College. From Eton, he would undertake a period of military training pursuant to a military career, either with the 2nd Life Guards Regiment of which King George IV had once been Field Marshal or in Hanover where his position might not precede him as much as it would in England. By the time he was 18 years old, the Prince of Wales would be a fully rounded King in Waiting and granted an estate of his own with a view to marriage, heirs and begin a gradual march towards the throne. 1827 had changed all that.
General Lord Hill (Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill)
There was clearly no question of the King ever having a “proper” military career, something the Duke of Clarence recognized would cause great disappointment in his nephew. George V had an insatiable interest in military history from a young age, indeed, he could already outfox several elderly Generals recalling the names and dates of important battles which prompted General Lord Hill to remark; “At 14 years old, His Majesty could command the troops just as well as George II and then write an account of the battle that would inspire every soldier in the British Army for a hundred years to come”. But it seemed that much like his late uncle, the Prince Regent, and his grandfather King George III, George V would be denied the relationship with the military he truly wanted. The Duke of Clarence felt this to be a ridiculous arrangement and he asked Captain “Honest Billy” Smith for advice. Smith felt that an opportunity was being missed to offer the young Sovereign an experience that would “undoubtedly forge a long-lasting respect and appreciation for the British Army whilst also building a mutual affection between King and soldier that will prove invaluable”.
The King met the minimum standards of education for new recruits in the British Army but needed some proof of higher education to be considered for the 18-week officer training programme which had been reformed by his father, King George IV, when he was Commander in Chief of the Forces. Whilst there had always been a view that the King could not be examined, Barwell felt this an important goal for George who may risk losing interest in his formal education now that more exciting projects were being put in his path. The young King was promised that if he completed his higher examinations over the next two years, he would be allowed to attend the Royal Military College for a time and ultimately be gazetted as an officer. This proved a popular motivational tool and the King now applied himself to his studies with a renewed interest and vigour. Honest Billy was also asked by the Duke of Clarence to help show George what the life of a soldier was really about and so Smith spent one day a week with the King demonstrating and how to clean his boots, how to wear his uniform and how to clean a rifle. Honest Billy was promoted to the rank of Major and appointed as an Aide-de-Camp to the Sovereign. He was given special responsibility to help introduce George V to important military personnel, to take him on private tours of barracks and military colleges and even to arrange for him to watch military manoeuvres at home and abroad.
Whilst her brother was being introduced to the various themes of his future role, Princess Charlotte Louise declared her life before marriage to be “an endless round of very dull days”. The Duchess of Clarence wished Princess Victoria to make a good impression when they visited the King and Queen of the Netherlands in the Autumn of 1834 and so the Princess was being given extra lessons with a Dutch professor from Oxford, Floris van Tonder. Van Tonder taught Victoria some rudimentary Dutch, gave her a general overview of Dutch history and schooled her in who the most prominent courtiers were at The Hague. This meant that Princess Charlotte Louise found herself at a loose end, her own education considered to be an end and the corridors of Windsor empty of company. Her one outlet came in the form of letters from Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Their correspondence had become more regular in the last year and there was no doubt that Charlotte Louise had begun to reciprocate Albert’s teenage crush. But the Coburg princes visited far less frequently nowadays and it became clear to the Duchess of Clarence that Charlotte Louise needed company to alleviate her boredom.
The Duchess consulted her ladies in waiting and asked the Marchioness of Lansdowne to draw up a list of girls who were of a similar age to Princess Charlotte Louise. In the spring of 1834, four of these girls were invited to Buckingham Palace to take tea with the Duchess of Clarence and Princess Charlotte Louise. Of these four, one guest in particular would become a life-long companion to the Princess. Lady Anne Anson was the daughter of Thomas Anson, the 1st Earl of Lichfield, and his wife Louisa Phillips. Two years younger than Charlotte Louise, Lady Anne was known for her bright disposition and her quick wit. The friendship was formed almost immediately and the Countess of Lichfield was appointed a lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of Clarence by the Prime Minister so as to allow the Ansons more time at court. Madame Fillon took the girls on various outings and they even holidayed together in Brighton. For the next 62 years, Charlotte Louise and Anne Anson would be the very best of friends, despite the distance eventually placed between them following Charlotte Louise’s marriage in 1840.
The HMS Royal George, the King's Yacht.
In the first week of August 1834, King George V traveled to Harwich from Windsor Castle to board the HMS Royal George. Accompanied by his aunt, the Duchess of Clarence, his cousin Princess Victoria of Kent, the Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, Honest Billy and various other senior courtiers. For Lord Grey, Viscount Palmerston’s absence was something of a blessing. A former Tory who had defected to the Whigs in 1830, Palmerston had always been an ally of Grey’s but recently he had shown sympathy with those in the party such as Lord Melbourne and Lord John Russell who were displeased with Grey’s approach to Church Reform and a lack of clear direction on Irish issues. Whilst many Whigs caustically remarked that Grey threatened to resign almost on a daily basis, this time he was seriously considering whether he should make way for a new man. But he wanted time to gauge the support he had in Cabinet and whilst Palmerston made it clear that the Prime Minister would always have his personal support, Grey doubted that the Foreign Secretary would maintain this loyalty if it seemed likely the top job could come his way. With Palmerston out of the country, Grey felt better able to assess his options and consider his future.
The Royal party sailed to Rotterdam on the 4th of August 1834 and were met by the Mayor, Marinus van IJsselmonde, and Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, King William II’s younger brother, and Frederick’s wife Princess Louise daughter of King Frederick William III of Prussia whom George V would shortly be visiting in Berlin. The Prince and Princess escorted the British visitors to the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. The welcome ceremony saw King William II present the royal guests with a vast array of gifts, including a diamond and ruby brooch for Princess Victoria in the shape of her initials ‘AV’ (for Alexandrine Victoria). For King George V, there was a series of books from the Batavian Society for Experimental Philosophy, a silver jardiniere engraved with the coats of arms of the Dutch and British Royal Families and the insignia of a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. King George V returned the favour by appointing the Prince of Orange a Knight of the Order of the Garter and presented his wife with a diamond aigrette which she wore at the welcome banquet that evening at the Palace.
There were gifts too for Prince William of the Netherlands and his household. The Dutch Court were under no illusion as to why Princess Victoria had been included in the visit and she later wrote that she felt she had been “sent on approval”. Whilst for the most part the Dutch court were welcoming and friendly, some of Princess Anna’s ladies were less than impressed with one commenting that Victoria was “not at all attractive”. Court gossip made frequent reference to her mother’s “insanity” and there were those who even doubted Victoria’s legitimacy and claimed that she was John Conroy’s daughter. This led to Victoria being dubbed “the little Conroy” at the Dutch court. When the Prince of Orange heard this, he dismissed those responsible and banned any talk of Victoria’s parents, though there is no evidence to suggest that he ever believed the allegations which were clearly false.
The Noordeinde Palace today.
The Duchess of Clarence and Princess Victoria were housed in a suite of rooms at the Noordeinde Palace which both agreed were impeccably designed. Whilst the Dutch constitution decreed that the State must provide both a summer and winter home for the Sovereign, King Willem I never resided there and immediately after the welcome banquet, the Prince of Orange and his wife returned to the Kneuterdijk Palace with their children. In between scheduled visits to the Missionary Society and the Mauritshuis, the Duchess of Clarence and Princess Victoria took a carriage ride to the Kneuterdijk where they spent most afternoons in the company of the Queen. Prince William was initially reluctant to join them, possibly a little embarrassed as his mother’s obvious matchmaking. However, he did comment to his brother Alexander that he found Victoria “an enchanting girl with very beautiful eyes” and slowly, he felt more comfortable in her presence. Victoria’s first impressions of the Prince did not change. She still felt him “dull and somewhat exhausting” and complained that “he never starts a conversation and when he does join in something like a game, he is too slow and stupid to offer anything of real interest or wit”.
For the most part, Victoria conducted herself well, though eyebrows were raised when she (quite innocently) mentioned her uncle whom she referred to as “King Leopold”. This earned a sharp rebuke by Prince Frederick who snapped, “He is not King here!” but this minor oversight was ignored when Victoria showed off her excellent grasp of conversational Dutch. Princess Anna was deeply impressed once again but she was concerned that Victoria seemed far more comfortable in Prince Alexander’s presence than in the company of the Prince of Orange. Alexander was therefore sent to Soestdijk for the remainder of the visit. The Duchess of Clarence wrote a letter to her husband back in England offering a promising report; “William and Drina seem more comfortable together, though I fear he remains a little intimidated by female company which is to be expected. I believe Victoria likes him well enough, though she is so tired at the end of our days here that we do not discuss the matter much”.
Meanwhile, King George V was making his way to Hanover. There was a natural curiosity among the people there and many hoped this visit would mark a change in the relationship that had previously defined the personal union between the two countries. Neither George III nor George IV had visited as monarch and though the King’s mother had left the country to the relief of those at Herrenhausen, her son was far more welcome. The gardens in the front of the palace played host to the great and good of Hanoverian society and the King, escorted by his uncle, the Duke of Cambridge, was introduced to his subjects in Hanover for the first time. One amusing encounter was a reunion with Baron Stockmar. Stockmar bowed politely and immediately asked how the King’s studies were progressing. The King replied curtly; “They are far more enjoyable now than they once were” before walking away. Stockmar was left red-faced and noted in his journal that day that the King had “lost none of his strong will and petulance”.
The Gardens at Herrenhausen.
On the King’s first evening in Hanover, Herrenhausen played host to a grand family reunion. Many of his relatives scattered throughout Germany had been invited to join the banquet welcoming George to Hanover and it was here that George met many of them for the first time. Some would join the royal party and travel to Berlin too, giving the King the opportunity to get to know them better. Of the guests present, two would become important figures in the King’s later life. The first was his cousin, Prince George of Cambridge, the only son of Prince Adolphus and Princess Augusta. Dubbed “the Two Georges”, George Cambridge was to return to England with the royal party to continue his education in England after his summer holidays and the King would ask the Duke of Clarence if his cousin could move into Windsor Castle so that the two friends could spend more time together. The other notable guest who would become a close friend to the King throughout his life was Prince Alexander of Prussia, the son of Prince Frederick of Prussia and Princess Louise of Anhalt-Bernburg.
Alexander was shortly to begin his army career and this fascinated George who proudly boasted that he too would enrol in a military college when he turned 16. He was somewhat jealous that Alexander would have a head start on him but nonetheless, the pair kept up a correspondence and some time later with their own households established, Alexander became a frequent guest at Windsor. Likewise, George V would spend his holidays in Switzerland where Alexander had a large estate, but also in Trechtinghausen where Alexander had a castle, Burg Rheinstein. Meeting Alexander was not the only high point of the King’s visit to Berlin. He was greatly enthused by the military manoeuvres staged for his enjoyment and he was thrilled to be named an Honorary Colonel of the 1st Foot Guards Regiment, the infantry regiment of the Royal Prussian Army formed in 1806 and to which all Princes of Prussia were commissioned lieutenants on their tenth birthdays. The ceremony took place at the Sanssouci in Potsdam where King George was able to visit the tomb of Frederick the Great and where he was also presented with the insignia of a Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle by King Frederick William III.
But there was an unexpected surprise at Sanssouci for the King during his visit too; he fell in love for the first time. The object of his affections was the 17 year old Charlotte Bodelschwingh, a niece of Ernst von Bodelschwingh auf Velmede, then serving as Oberpräsident of the Rhine Province. Charlotte was presented to the King during his visit to Sanssouci and in his journal, George wrote that he had “never seen a beauty so glorious” as he saw in Charlotte. Through Honest Billy, George managed to obtain a small sketch of Bodelschwingh which he brought back to England with him and placed in a frame beside his bed. He began to write letters to her, proclaiming his undying love and deep affection for her. This was nothing more than a boyhood crush of course and Bodelschwingh was advised by her uncle not to reply. George was heartbroken and begged Honest Billy to help him escape Windsor so that he could head for Potsdam and “rescue my great love”. Fortunately, the King’s first experience of love did not sting for too long but he often referred to “that pretty girl at Sanssouci” as an adult and was amused to learn that she had later married a Lutheran pastor; “And to think, her uncle considered
me an unsuitable prospect!”.
The South Facade of the Sanssouci, Potsdam.
The Royal party returned to England in the first week of November and foreign travel had clearly made an impression on the young King. He spoke of nothing else but his trip for weeks, leading to an unfortunate incident at the funeral of Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh a few weeks later. The Duke died on the 30th of November 1834, leaving behind his widow Princess Mary, his first cousin and George V’s paternal aunt. Following the burial, the Royal Family gathered for a luncheon where the young King spoke at length on how wonderful Hanover had been to visit and how proud he was that he was also King there too. This wasn’t exactly the most diplomatic subject to discuss as the late Duke had been excluded from the House of Hanover because of the unequal nature of his parents’ marriage. The Duke’s sister, Princess Sophia, was deeply offended (she too being excluded from the genealogical listing of the electoral house of Hanover in the
Königlicher Groß-Britannischer und Kurfürstlicher Braunschweig-Lüneburgscher Staats-Kalender). She returned to her home at Rangers’ House in Blackheath in high dudgeon and declined an invitation to spend Christmas at Windsor with the Royal Family.
Whilst the death of the Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh did not overly affect the King, the Duke of Clarence was deeply troubled by it. He was ten years older than the Duke of Gloucester and was fast approach 70 years old. His health was beginning to decline and he felt increasingly exhausted by his duties at regent for his nephew. His deputy, the Duke of Cambridge, was no spring chicken either, having turned 60 that year. George IV’s will had only named Clarence and Cambridge as regents and whilst the Duke of Clarence trusted the government to provide his nephew with a suitable successor should both his uncles die before he reached the age of majority, Clarence asked the Prime Minister to agree whom that successor should be before the turn of the New Year. With the Duke of Cumberland out of the running, only the Duke of Sussex was left of the sons of King George III and Clarence wished to avoid the possibility of parliament appointing a regent from the House of Lords or the Royal Household if there was a vacancy. But Clarence wasn’t the only member of the family pondering the future. At Rumpenheim, someone else was considering what it may hold and was making plans accordingly. 1835 would see those plans put into action.
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